Local video, game store to close doors

When Allen C. Ingersoll opened DVD and Game Depot in October 2006, it made a good profit for the first two years.

“I made enough money in the first six months to pay for my bills for the entire year,” he recalled of those first two years in business.

Now, nearly five years after opening, Ingersoll is going to “close the door and walk away.”

Ingersoll said he is closing his DVD and electronic game store in the Maricopa Business Center on Honeycutt Road on July 15. Right now he is holding a clearance sale to sell off his inventory.

With competition from the Blockbuster next to Bashas’ and other rental options like Red Box and Netflix, it might seem inevitable that a small, independent video store like Ingersoll’s would have a tough time surviving. But Ingersoll said it’s not competition from the corporate entities that’s killing him. Rather, it’s the lack of support from the city to small businesses like his.

“I can handle Red Box,” he said, pointing out he had a deal that was twice as good as Red Box’ $1-a-night rental. “For $11.99 a month you could rent a different movie every night. That comes out to 40 cents a day.”

He said along with the low price, customers could reserve movies in advance on his website, something not offered by Red Box.

Ingersoll said if Maricopa officials truly support small businesses, they would never have brought a Walmart to town. He also questions why the public library is lending for free DVDs and video games, which he sees as the city taking his tax dollars to help put him out of business.

He said his business is not the only one hurt by the city. He believes the city’s public transit system has put the taxis out of business.

“We had three taxi services trying to make a living, and what do they do, open the COMET (City of Maricopa Express Transit). Does a city that’s only five square miles [sic] really need a transit?”

Along with lack of support from the city, Ingersoll said another reason he plans to close is because his store has been broken into five times. He does not fault the police department, however, and said that compared to Phoenix, Maricopa has little crime. Another challenge, he said, is the constant turnover of customers.

“The biggest problem with this town is the way it is set up,” he said. “It has turned into a bedroom community and most of our customers find out about us by word of mouth. When they move out, the new ones who come in don’t know about us.”

Asked if he is a member of the local chamber of commerce, an organization whose mission is support local business, Ingersoll answered, “I used to be.”

He said the chamber does a better job for local businesses now than in the past, when it had as board members “more lawyers and real estate agents than store fronts.”

Ingersoll said he ran for a seat on the chamber board once, but lost by a couple of votes.

“I’m not always the nicest guy,” he said. “If I have a viewpoint, I will push it.”

The business owner is also a motorcyclist, and points out that is a part of his softer side. He is the Phoenix task force leader for “Ride for Kids,” an annual bike run that raises money for the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation.

City spokeswoman LaTricia Woods responded to Ingersoll’s claim that Maricopa doesn’t support small business.

“The city is very supportive of small businesses and provides various programs and services to support and promote them,” she said. “One of more popular programs is the Small Business Training program that provides eight weeks of training on all aspects of growing and maintaining a small business.